Stefan Pierer’s Austria based investment vehicle Pierer Industrie AG, the company behind KTM, Husqvarna, WP Suspension, and others, has made a $9m strategic investment in heads-up display (HUD) company NUVIZ. The San Diego, California based technology start-up hopes to have a heads-up display unit and connected rider system available in the first half of 2017.
EBR Motorcycles (the most recent iteration of Erik Buell’s endeavours to keep a motorcycle manufacturing business afloat) has closed down - and this time there appears to be little chance of a rescue for the Wisconsin based business. Liquid Asset Partners (LAP), who took ownership and announced it would continue to trade EBR a year ago, has decided that it cannot sustain the losses being incurred – losses it attributes to too few dealers being prepared to take the brand on, restricting the numbers EBR could build and sell.
Through the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA) and Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA), the Motorcycle Industry Council in the USA (MIC) is lobbying state legislatures on behalf of its OE members against so-called “Right To Repair” laws that would give U.S. motorcyclists similar modification freedoms to those granted to riders in Europe two years ago.
Harley-Davidson backed out of a scheduled meeting with President Trump at its Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin factory over fears about protests. Factory executives made the trip to the White House instead – from public remarks before the election last year it is known that Matt Levatich, Harley’s CEO and one time MV Agusta front man, is no fan of the billionaire property developer.
Akrapovic is Honda’s World Superbike team official sponsor and technical partner for 2017. The Slovenian manufacturer has developed new bespoke exhausts for the CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 racing bikes of Nicky Hayden and Stefan Bradl. The all-new exhaust is said to use special lightweight titanium alloys “precisely configured to improve the performance of the bike and give it a competitive edge”.
The Ducati XDiavel S has been awarded the "Good Design Award 2016". Founded in 1950 and said to be the world's oldest prize dedicated to excellence in design, the award (at Chicago’s Athenaeum) is “dedicated to the most innovative and cutting-edge industrial products and graphic designs produced around the world. For the 2016 edition of the Good Design Award, the jury evaluated more than 900 candidates from 46 countries, with products spanning practically every sector, from electronics to robotics, from furnishing to graphics and vehicles”.
